Ideology And Ideological State Apparatuses

2163 WordsSep 22, 20169 Pages

Essay I: Of Althusser and ISAs
Ideology is much like oxygen gas, invisible to the average human yet ever present in the world. According to philosopher Louis Althusser, ideology is “a ‘representation’ of the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence” (Norton 1498). Ideology is a means by which people attempt to comprehend themselves in relation to the reality they exist in. For example, in Christianity, people view themselves as placed into reality for the purpose of repenting for the sins of humanity. Christianity, and all religions, are key to understanding how ideologies are perpetuated and spread to individuals. According to Althusser, as detailed in his essay “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” (1970), ideologies are used by the class in charge of the State (the government) in order to control oppressed classes. Ideologies are employed in two main forms, first in through Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) and then through Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs). RSAs rely mainly on violence or the threat thereof to control the masses, and are under direct control of the State. Forces such as courts, the police, and the Army are RSAs. In contrast, ideological State Apparatuses function mainly through ideology, to control the thoughts, actions, and beliefs of the people. ISAs are not usually under direct control of the State, but serve the State’s purposes by influencing the people, acting as the arms of ideology, spreading it to

Ideological spark of my life
My name is Xingwang Cai. I come from China where the largest populations have. I am the one of 1.3 billion. So in the world I am very small. But I will show my justice in my life. Particular about loyalty to friends is my principle. In the high school, there was a day after class, my friend and I go to the basketball court. During the rest I saw the high grade students try to seize basketball court from low grade students. Now just one thing comes to my mind. I have

I have been for the most part skeptical about whether Louis Althusser’s essay on state apparatuses accomplishes anything not previously explained in more humanistic and less functionalist terms by Antonio Gramsci. Indeed, although there appears to be a clear divergence between the two insofar as Gramsci associates ideological work with civil society whereas Althusser locates it in the state, even this distinction is not as stark in light of certain passages in Selections from the Prison Notebooks

Ideological Critique
It is often proposed that the western world is almost equal in terms of power relations within gender. The society may be moving towards equality, but the progress is yet slow. Furthermore, even though the society is changing, the media lags to reflect the power struggle taking place within society. While occupations are making great progress in diminishing inequality, the media still portrays messages that objectify women, and deprives them of the respect that is readily

Ideological Differences on Renewable Energy
Ever wonder what the world would be if there was no more energy, no more electricity in our household and no more gas for our car? Energy is a necessary resource that is used every day in American households and vehicles. Unfortunately, majority of the energy that is currently used comes from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are un-renewable energy, which means that one day that it would eventually disappear. Unlike fossil fuels, there is an alternative way

The growing ideological gap between the United States’ two major political parties, in other words, rising levels of political polarization, has had a negative impact on American politics as it results in Congressional inefficient, public apathy, and economic inequality.
The United States has maintained its two party system for some time, but the major parties have not always been so clearly separated. In the early and mid-twentieth century, polarization was actually declining, as there was much

provide a clear and distinct understanding of the use of terminology that will be used throughout this prospectus and study. The following terms or concepts are defined: preservice teacher, ideology, beliefs about teaching and learning, state apparatuses, repressive state apparatus, ideological state apparatuses, and social reproduction.
Preservice Teacher
According to Kennedy (1999), a preservice teacher is a student that is currently enrolled in a teacher preparation program. Thus, “Preservice teacher

Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolutions. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992.
Thesis: In The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, Bernard Bailyn argues that the ideology of the American Revolution was inspired by a variety of source such as enlightenment writers, past revolutions, and political corruption in the homeland of England.
Themes: A theme that is prominent throughout the text in many forms is "liberty." One of the causes

Robinson
November 28, 2016
Polarization In America
Ideological Conflict is defined as the mental, verbal, or physical manifestation of rivalry between people that share opposing world views. Political polarization relates to when a person’s view and stance on a topic, law, issue or particular group of people is stringently defined by their identification with a particular political party or ideology.
Ever since the 1960s ideological conflict and political polarization have evolved as more

French philosopher Destutt de Tracy originally coined the term "ideology" at the end of the 18th century to create a science that would provide a rational foundation for the study and critique of ideas. Instead, the term has become an extremely challenged and changeable concept. The term "ideology" is used to refer to a system of mutually dependent ideas, principles, traditions, gatherings, and even folklore that functions as a routine frame of reference. These routine ideas are taken for

Ideology
Note: these are ‘generalizations’ and are not ‘all inclusive’…
An ideology is a collection of ideas, typically containing ideas on what it considers to be the best form of government (democracy, theocracy, etc), & the best economic system (capitalism, socialism, etc). Sometimes the same word is used to identify both an ideology & one of its main ideas, e.g., "socialism" may refer to an economic system, or to an ideology which supports that economic system.
- Political ideologies generally